Will the exit of Jamal
Lyon (Jussie Smollett) in the last episodes of Empire, Season 5, open the door for
a more intimate relationship between Lucious
Lyon and his
illegitimate son, Jeff Kingsley (A.Z. Kelsey) in season 6?
Before Empire’s mid-season break,
there were episodes in which Lucious Lyon
(Terrence Howard) was present with a mysterious coffin, and all season long the
question has been whose body is in the coffin. During
Season 5 and the past couple of months, there has been much speculation, and here are some additional possible
answers.
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| Terrence Howard & A.Z. Kelsey |
Before the exit of
Jamal Lyon, the character that is first on the list of is Hakeem Lyon (Bryshere Yazuan Gray). Why Hakeem?
Like the mystery body in the coffin, Hakeem is either suffering from a mysterious disease that causes him to cough up
blood, like lung cancer, or TB would do, or he is suffering from after effects from the gunshots he suffered at the
end of season 4.
deaddying or soon to be
Following Hakeem on this list of possible dead is Lucious psychotic,
bipolar mother, Leah Walker played by famed actress Leslie Uggams, and who now
resides in prison for murder and is now a co-conspirer in Jeff Kingsley’s plot
to bring down Lucious. Leah is an antagonist
and prison is no place for the strife she
creates.
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| Leslie Uggams |
Then there is the person
of Jeff Kingsley’s mother, Tracy, a dying
habitual drug addict who is more in and out of consciousness
and is the source of Kingsley’s hatred of
Lucious. Should she die, could Lucious admit that Kingsley
could be his son, and also acknowledge that
Tracy once meant something to him after all?
Let’s not forget Andre Lyon
(Trai Byers), who has secrets of his own and has been stumbling very badly and
transparently at being the gangster. He too suffers from bipolar disease, which
causes him to have some dangerous hallucinations.
Finally, if not surprisingly,
there is Jamal Lyon. Why? Because Jamal has been backpedaling into his old habit of doing illegal drugs to solve his personal problems, and hiding the knowledge from everyone. It would be no
surprise if he suddenly died of an overdose.
Ah, what lovely family ties.
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| Taraji Penda Henson, Terrence Howard, Trai Byers & Bryshere Yazuan Gray |
Nevertheless, someone has died that was dear to Lucious and the mystery of the coffin needs a resolution, and with the untimely exit of Jamal Lyon, will this vacancy lead to an expansion of the character of Jeff Kingsley. If so, in what interesting ways can or will the character of Kingsley develop?
Empire returns March 13th at 8/7c on Fox.